Shoshone, CA – The Amargosa Conservancy joins residents and community leaders across the California desert today in celebrating the news that President Obama plans to designate three new national monuments in the California desert on Friday. The establishment of Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains National Monuments will provide permanent and lasting protection for these nationally significant landscapes, and contribute to sustainable economic development for rural desert communities. Amargosa Conservancy is also grateful to Senator Dianne Feinstein for her leadership, on behalf of Californians, in asking the President to take this action.

The Conservancy joins a wide array of supporters from the desert region and across California in supporting President Obama’s designation of these new national monuments. Local businesses such as Tecopa Hot Springs Resort and China Ranch Date Farm, community groups such as the Old Spanish Trail Association and Shoshone Museum Association, and academics such as Professor Dustin Mulvaney of San Jose State University and Professor Ruth Nolan of College of the Desert, all support the designations for the preservation of the desert’s environmental and cultural heritage and for the economic benefits which will accompany the increased tourism that these designations will bring.

“President Obama’s bold conservation action will ensure that desert communities have a sustainable economic future, as future generations of Americans can continue to access our amazing desert public lands,” said Patrick Donnelly, executive director of Amargosa Conservancy. “These irreplaceable lands are the connective tissue which binds the wildlands of the Mojave Desert together. The President and Senator Feinstein have created an enduring conservation legacy in the California desert which will combat climate change, support communities, and promote economic development.”

The Amargosa Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) based in Shoshone, California, “standing up for the wilds, waters, and communities of the scenic Amargosa Basin and Eastern Mojave.” Founded in 2004, the Conservancy has worked with desert community members to advocate for the protection of Mojave Desert landscapes and species for a decade.